For the second year running I had to miss out on the wonderful talents of Steve Cropper and the Animals And Friends as they clashed with Blue Coupe who I simply wasn't going to miss, largely because they feature the Bouchard brothers Joe and Albert, from one of my all time favourite bands Blue Oyster Cult, plus Dennis Dunaway from the classic Alice Cooper band of the seventies. Blue Coupe played with a garage New York punky edge, a little rough and raw around the edges but the music was compelling. Early BOC treats were belted out such as 'The Red & The Black' and 'Cities On Flames With Rock 'n’ Roll’. Dennis Dunaway looked like he was from another planet, an alien version of a grasshopper that made full use of every inch of the stage. Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen' had the BOC treatment and the Dunaway penned 'Under My Wheels' was a crunching joy. Albert Bouchard is a great drummer trashing away on his kit and putting on a child's dinosaur mask for 'Godzilla'. 'Don't Fear The Reaper',' School's Out' and 'Kick Out The Jams' rounded off this monstrous set.

After the set I got an old poster of Blue Oyster Cult signed by the Bouchard brothers, which I already had signed before by the remaining members a few years previous...At last I had the full set, I was one very happy bunny and for me the night was over, so I returned to my room so I didn't run the risk of damaging my prized asset.

Musicians talk to Windber students about song writingBy SANDY WOJCIK Daily American Correspondent

4:03 p.m. EST, February 2, 2012

WINDBER -—

Mike Pinera and Albert Bouchard talk with students from Windber Area High School after the concert they preformed at the Arcadia Theater Saturday night.

Pinera, a former member of the Iron Butterfly and Bouchard, founding member of the Blue Oyster Cult, are two of the members of the Classic Rock All Stars group. They talked to the students about all the aspects of the record industry, from writing music to performing.

Bouchard, who teaches music at a college, stressed the importance of getting an education before deciding to give the industry a try. He said up until Saturday Night Live did the famous "Cow Bell" skit, "nobody knew who I was. They would say 'Oh I never heard of that music or maybe my grandparents do'," he said.

The drummer said what also brought the Blue Oyster Cult music to today's audience was the guitar video games.

"Now they all want to learn how to play our songs. That really brought them to our music than just the cow bell thing," he said.

Bouchard told the students, "If you have any inclination to write then that is totally the way to go. If you are not that good of singer or not that good of musician, then it is important to write a very good song. Song writers get paid from the first time the song is performed. Musicians have to promote their music. They have to go on the road. They have to pay everybody. Song writers do not have to pay anybody. They get paid from record one. That is the beauty of being a writer."

Bouchard has written a number of songs over his career, but said a few years ago he received a "big check, five big ones in fact" for a song that he wrote more than 20 years ago and was now being performed.

"I said, wow, how good is that? If you have any inclination to write, then go for it," he said.

In addition to Bouchard's writing career, Pinera added that the song he wrote early in his career, "Ride Captain Ride," paid off handsomely when it was played during the Olympics.

"That was great," he said.

The other two members of the Classic Rock All Stars included Goldy McJohn from Steppenwolf and Prescott Niles from the Knack. All of the band members signed autographs and posed for photos for the fans after the show. While Bouchard and Pinera worked with the students McJohn and Niles sat and talked with fans for well over an hour after the show.

Hello Dennis, first of all, how are you ?I'm in a creative frame of mind and life is good, thanks.

You seem quite busy with Blue Coupe, your band with the Bouchard brothers. How did you decide to put a band together ? You already worked with Joe Bouchard in BDS before that…Joe also worked with Neal and I on the Deadringer album, Electrocution Of The Heart, along with guitar player Jay "Jesse" Johnson and singer Charlie Huhn.Bouchard, Dunaway & Smith came out of that. BDS rehearsed a lot, but our requirements to do live gigs was set high, so despite working hard to book shows, we only did about three per year. Joe, Neal and I had all paid our dues a hundred times over, but Joe and I were more willing to get back down in the trenches and deal with all of the troublesome crap that comes with playing smaller venues.After I got Joe and Albert to join me on stage at a couple of shows in NYC, the next thing we knew, Albert landed a great one-nighter for us as a trio. We winged it through two sets and it went so smooth that the club owner paid us extra to play another set. And we had so much fun that we decided to make Blue Coupe happen.

You released “Tornado on the Tracks” in 2010, I gotta say it’s a fantastic album. Are there any songs on it that you’ve been carrying in your bag for a long time, or did you write all-new songs with the band exclusively for this album ?I think Tornado is about half new and half previous ideas. We booked a few days at Prime Time Studios in Mount Vernon, New York. Again, we hadn't rehearsed at all. We kicked around the concepts, lyrics, arrangements and everything online. And then on first day of recording, we thought we would be lucky to nail four tracks and we nailed fourteen. And so we used the extra time to shoot a video for "You (Like Vampires)" directed by Albert's son, Ace, and his film crew. There was a bad storm that day and I was looking out the studio window at the railroad tracks when Albert said, How does it look out there. I said, it looks like there's a Tornado on the tracks. We both said, that's our album title.

You sing on “Waiting for my Ship”, a lot of people don’t know you as a singer. How did you end up in front of the microphone ? Did you write the lyrics of the song as well ?My bass lines are often counter-melodic to the vocal melody so it's tricky for me to sing and play bass simultaneously. But when I write songs with the intention of singing lead, I'll write simpler parts, which is what I did on "Waiting For My Ship." I wrote the whole song but Albert simplified the choruses and Joe came up with the chords for the guitar break. Here comes my girlfriend, cuter than a cupcake. She deserves the whole wide world but I ain't got it. I'm just waiting for my ticket to win. I'm waiting' for my ship to come in.

You did some shows in France last year, and you’re coming back in April. You even recorded a live album in Paris with BDS. Do you really enjoy France or is this a happy accident ?Alice and I became friends in high school art class. I love France because of it's amazing artists, especially the impressionists. Whenever I'm there, my French friends always show me around. We've explored St.-Malo, St. Michelle, Lyon, Tours, Paris, Moulin, Peymeinade and Nice so far. Yes, I do love your beautiful country very much.

So you’re no longer wondering why you’re not on tour, as I didn’t see any new photo on your facebook page recently ! In extension to the French shows, is a whole European tour with Blue Coupe being setting up ?It's been decades and barely a day has passed without my wondering why I'm not touring with Alice. I keep thinking that he's going to do something about it, but at this point, it just seems like there are too many nails in that coffin. The only reason that I keep thinking it will happen is because I know that he believes in doing what is fair and right. We are lifelong friends and my hopes have always been fueled by knowing his good character.Blue Coupe would love to do as many shows as possible but the European fans will have to convince the promoters that there's a demand. Meanwhile, little by little, we'll continue doing our best to win them over.

What happened to the Dennis Dunaway Project ? It was such a great band and you seemed to be very proud of it.I am very proud of that band and I'm very proud of that album, and those friendships, but I couldn't bring DDP to France because they're restricted to staying near home and that's a problem for me. Musicians travel. That's what we do. It's in my blood.

You recently recorded with Alice Cooper for his new album “Welcome 2 my Nightmare”.How was it to be in a studio in 2011 with Neal Smith, Michael Bruce, Alice Cooper and Bob Ezrin ? Did you get the exact same feeling as in the old days ?Other than missing Glen's fiery personality and wit, and the leaps and bounds of new technology, yes, it was surprisingly the same. It's a magical chemistry and I felt like we could have knocked out that whole album in a week. We did three tracks in two days. Play those three songs together and you can get an idea of what a reunion album would be like, especially if we got the proper amount of time. I love working with Alice, Neal, Michael and Bob because that's exactly what I was born to do.

I gotta say the three tracks with the original band (RIP Glen Buxton) are absolutely amazing, when I heard “When Hell Comes Home” I instantly thought “Oh ! That’s Dennis Dunaway right here !”, how do you explain the fact that your style is so unique ?It's funny that you say that because, when the band lived at the farm in Detroit, I wrote a positive redemption to "Black Juju" called "Bring Up The Light" and Michael's riff on "Hellhole Number 9," which became "When Hell Comes Home" is nearly note for note. I mentioned that to him and he didn't get that scoundrel smile so he either forgot he copped it, or it's a coincidence. At any rate, I love that song more than mine anyway.

“Runaway Train” originally called “Subway” was on the Dennis Dunaway Project’s album called “Bones from the yard”. How did you react when Alice said he wanted to rewrite it for his album instead of making a brand new song ?I was thrilled, of course. Getting to work with one of the greatest writers and singers in rock, who wouldn't be? But it also meant that I would get to spend some time with my long lost artistic family. That's the true thrill of it.

The Alice Cooper Group has so much history in it, I know that you’re writing a book, how is it going ? I think it needs at least four books to get the right story, as Neal Smith said that “Me Alice” is “a great book of fiction”…Four books? Yikes! You have no idea how hard I've worked to get one book finished. I've written it three times over to achieve the truthful light I intended. And through all of my years of silence, so many tales have been spun that the honest to God truth does sound like fiction. The made up tales are etched in stone. And as entertaining as they are, I think the truth is far more interesting. I do have a positive feeling about this year though. I'm dead set on getting a deal with a publisher.

You brought the theatrical elements into the Alice Cooper Show. I read that you invented the famous eye make-up. You don’t have any theatrics with Blue Coupe, except maybe in the musicvideos, why that ? Do you focus more on the music ? Or are the other guys simply less crazy than you ?Ha ha. I didn't invent the eye make-up. I got the idea from a poster for a ballet in New York City and I altered the idea for Alice. But I think it would have been easier to climb Mount Everest than to talk Alice into wearing it when no band had ever done such an outlandish thing.For now, Blue Coupe are happy doing minimal theatrics because that let's people actually listen to the music.And Blue Oyster Cult had the most elaborate laser light show ever, so Joe and Albert know theatrics. They toured with the Coops.

What music do you listen to in those days ? Do you listen to actual bands ?I rarely listened to much besides the music in my head but I grew up on Country music, Do wop, Elvis and Duane Eddy and the Rebels. And then came The Beatles, The Stones, The Yardbirds, The Kinks and the Who. And then I moved on to Beethoven and Stockhausen and every other kind of music known to man. It's still mostly in my head though.

Do you think in today’s society, a new band can still shock people, bring new things on the table… Like the Alice Cooper Group did at the time ?The Alice Cooper group did it under the rigid magnifying glass of censorship but that only made it more outrageous for the times. It's impossible to imagine how shocking it was now. Can it be done again? Absolutely. And the best time to do it is when people have convinced themselves that it can't be done.

Alice recently said that he would not exclude the idea of making a whole new album with Michael, Neal and you and even a tour in cities that marked the history of the Alice Cooper Group. Did you talk together about that ? Is it going to happen ?Yes, they said it was going to happen and then it didn't. We were told that there is no interest in it. As always, Alice just has to stand up and stick to his guns.

You’re now in the Rock’n’roll hall of fame (about time !), how were you feeling the day of the ceremony ? Do you see it as an achievement or just another award ?The real award is in the faces of all of the people that tell us how much our music means to them. But the induction ceremony was a heavenly day. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame saw through the smokescreen and recognized what Neal, Glen, Alice, Michael and I created as a hard working, against all odds, visionary group. We created every bit of it together, as friends, for art. I cherish the award because of that.

I read that Neal was a bit angry because you could have been inducted when Glen was still alive…Neal is right but I felt like G.B. was right there with us. He was never much for any kind of ceremony anyway, but if he had been alive, the after-party would still be going strong.

What will 2012 be for Dennis Dunaway ?I love surprises.

Do you have a little word for the readers of Hard Force Magazine ?Music makes the world go around. It brings us all together. It is the universal language. And it would die if all of your ears were silent, so keep enjoying that loud, loud music.

Well thank you very much for this interview, I hope to see you on your tour with Blue Coupe, and by the way, happy new year !"Merci" Blue Coupe !

On November 2, Blue Coupe cruised into music haven Iridium Jazz Club and performed two sets, giving the audience what they came for...and more with their high-energy, no-holds-barred performance. The band is comprised of music legends Albert and Joe Bouchard (founding members of Blue Oyster Cult) and Dennis Dunaway (founding member of the Alice Cooper Band). They had a few special guests who joined them on stage, jazzing up already jazzy sets; those guests were Goldy McJohn (original keyboardist for Steppenwolf), Andy Hilfiger, Andy Shernoff, and award-winning bluesman Joe Louis Walker. At one point, the tiny stage was packed to the brim, every musician giving it 110%. What makes the Iridium such a lovely venue to see music at, besides its cozy vibe, is seeing your favorite musicians up-close-and-personal. Because this is Les Paul's baby, musicians often seem quite comfortable and relaxed performing there; Blue Coupe was no exception. They seemed nothing short of joyous to be performing their classic hits in the legendary venue.

The "angry orphans," as dubbed by Joe Bouchard, ended the first set with crowd favorites, Blue Oyster Cult's "I'm Burnin' for You" and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild." The second set was chocked full of their pyschedelic classics "The Pusher," "Sookie, Sookie," "I'm Eighteen," "Schools Out for Summer," "Godzilla," and "Don't Fear the Reaper." Albert Bouchard donned a large, furry Godzilla mask during the song of the same name, displaying his drumming dexterity by playing with the obstruction on. His drumming was fire, he never missed a beat! Joe Bouchard is an entertaining frontman, funny and energetic, an Ever-Ready rock'n'roll bunny. All members performed like it was their first time doing the songs, fresh and with lots of conviction. They ended the kinetic set with sizzling blues numbers, "Baby, What's Wrong with You?" and "T-Bone Blues," Joe Louis Walker on lead vocals. His voice was made for the blues: sharp, soulful, poignant.

Albert and Joe Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult fame team up with Dennis Dunaway from the original Alice Cooper band and the results are pretty amazing. "You (Like Vampires)" was nominated for a Grammy and is really a perfect example of the band’s sound, which really is a cross between old Alice Cooper and old Blue Oyster Cult. Seriously. At times the songs sound as if they were written for a seventies Alice record, while at other times the sound is totally fresh.

My favorite track may be the last cut on the record, the rocking “On The Darkest Night,” but I was totally hooked by the Dunaway penned “Untamed Youth,” a song that could have easily been on Cooper’s “Killer” album.

Of course, “Angel’s Well,” written by Joe, goes for the jugular from the very beginning. Very Alice influenced, and that is a good thing. A very good thing. The vocals are rough and oftentimes sinister. Imagine that. No pretty boy vocals here folks, but good ol’ sand paper in the esophagus rock and roll singing. The tune also features a nice guitar solo by ex-Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who also adds his vintage slide sound to “Man Up,” a brilliant piece of swaggering rock.

A real nice surprise here is a cover of The Byrd’s “Dolphin’s Smile” which works very well in the mix. Dennis Dunaway contributes his own unique lead vocal to “Waiting For My Ship,” another very cool track. Just so you know, the rumors of the death of the power trio have been greatly exaggerated, and Blue Coupe proves it with a brilliant mix of vintage seventies sound and fresh, 21st century swagger that make them a band to keep an eye on. Good stuff.

Dunaway still rocks with Blue Coupe

Alice Cooper’s original bassist joins forces with former Blue Oyster Cult members

Dennis Dunaway, best known as a founding member of the Alice Cooper band, understandably has some challenges balancing his past and his present these days. With Alice Cooper’s induction into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame this year, on top of the soon-to-be-released sequel to Alice’s classic Welcome To My Nightmare album featuring a reunion of the original Cooper band, Dunaway has been inundated with good wishes from fans all over the world.

At the same time, the bassist, who forged his friendship with Alice when they were teenagers in Phoenix, Arizona (and Alice was still known as Vincent Furnier), has never stopped making music since the 1974 Alice Cooper album Muscle Of Love marked the end of the group that had formed as The Earwigs in 1964.

In fact, Dunaway’s latest project, Blue Coupe, unites him with two other longtime friends and rock ‘n’ roll lifers, original Blue Oyster Cult members Albert and Joe Bouchard. Blue Coupe released an album last year entitled Tornado On The Tracks and Dunaway says that he’s truly fortunate to still be able to play original music for receptive audiences today, especially after battling Crohn’s Disease in the 1990s.

“I’ve known Joe and Albert since 1972 when Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper toured together,” Dunaway says from his home in Connecticut.

“They’re such great musicians and we’ve always had a lot of fun jamming together. At one point I realized that they hadn’t recorded anything officially for about 25 years, so I started prodding them to form this band. Once we got down to making the album, it all happened really fast. We’re in the process of doing the next album right now, which will have a song that Robby Krieger of The Doors wrote for us.”

Although Dunaway’s focus has always been on making new music – he has two other bands, the Dennis Dunaway Project and 5th Avenue Vampires – he knows that fans who come to shows expect to hear at least a few of the songs he helped make famous, such as I’m Eighteen and School’s Out.

“With Blue Coupe, we know who our core audience is, so we go a bit deeper into the Alice Cooper and Blue Oyster Cult catalogues,” he says. “It often just depends on what the crowd is like at any given show. We did a festival in France last year, and a fan called out for [BOC’s] Fallen Angel as we were walking to the stage. It wasn’t one that we’d rehearsed, but Joe decided on the spot that we should do it, and it came off as tight as anything else in the set. That just proved to me again what you can do when you’ve been playing with someone for 40 years.”

Dunaway had a similar experience recording the three new Welcome 2 My Nightmare tracks with Alice, whom he still considers his best friend.

“The original band – Alice, myself, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith, and our producer Bob Ezrin – were in the studio in New York for two days, and it was remarkably like old times,” Dunaway says.

The only difference was of course the absence of guitarist Glen Buxton, who passed away in 1997, a gaping hole that Dunaway admits couldn’t be ignored. “We set up a shrine in the studio. I brought one of Glen’s amps and put it on a stool next to the grand piano, along with a dozen red roses and a bottle of Seagram’s 7. He’s always in our hearts.”

Canada also holds a special place for Dunaway since, as he explains, it was where the Alice Cooper persona was essentially fleshed out on the group’s breakthrough album, Love It To Death, courtesy of the Toronto-based Ezrin, and his production guru, the recently departed Jack Richardson. There was also the notorious “chicken incident” at the Toronto Rock ‘N Roll Revival Festival in September 1969, which made headlines across North America, and unintentionally cemented Alice’s image as the godfather of “shock rock.”

Just prior to that show, the group was in London, Ont., opening for Frank Zappa at the Wonderland Gardens, curious as to why they weren’t on the bill for what would become the era’s landmark rock festival, Woodstock. “That was our first big tour and Frank was our mentor at the time, so while he and the Mothers were doing their sound check, Alice and I got up the nerve to ask him why we weren’t going to play this festival in upstate New York everybody was talking about.

“Without pausing Frank said, ‘Because we don’t want to,’ and went back to sound checking. Alice and I just looked at each other and said, okay. But then a month later after we played Toronto, everyone knew who we were.”

Blue Coupe "Tornado on the Tracks"

(www.bluecoupeband.com) Should be called the Blue Truth, because they tell it like it is! Listening to this CD the first time I was pleasantly befuddled -- some songs sound like Dylan and some sound like Spinal Tap's "Sex Farm," yet they never seemed to be joking. Then I looked closer at the CD and saw it was written and performed by two founding members of BOC (the Bouchards) and the great Dennis Dunaway of the original Alice Cooper Group, and it made more sense. When the Blue Oysters and the A. Coopers get together than everything (other than the silly hybrid band name) can be simultaneously sincere and beautifully absurd. This all-killer, no filler album goes from boogie to Byrds to badass without missing a gear, taking out any doubts and questions and challenges. It's a real (blue) coup!

CD review - Blue Coupe - Tornado on the Tracks

Blue Coupe. The name alone evokes images of hot rods. Or maybe The Beach Boys and hot summer nights. However this band is far away from those ideas. The movie Blue Velvet is more appropriate perhaps?

Blue Coupe is the project put together by legendary figures Dennis Dunaway (ex Alice Cooper) and Albert and Joe Bouchard (ex Blue Oyster Cult). Blue Coupe, get it? There really should be no reason to mention the resume of these guys but for the un-initiated here goes.

Bassist Dennis Dunaway is a founding member of the original Alice Cooper group and co-wrote some of their biggest hits like “I’m Eighteen”, Under My Wheels” and “School’s Out”.

Albert and Joe Bouchard were both members of Blue Oyster Cult when they were at their pinnacle in the mid to late ‘70s. Drummer Albert co-wrote “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”, “The Red and the Black”, “This Ain’t the Summer of Love” and many more. Joe was a bassist with BOC but is also an accomplished guitarist. With BOC, he wrote “Nosferatu”, “Astronomy” and “Hot Rails to Hell”, amongst many.

The trio got together a few years back and started off touring and playing material from their former bands. Eventually the burn to create some new music turned into a full-fledged flame and from that comes Tornado on the Tracks. As with all past music from these groundbreaking bands, there is a sinister, potentially nasty quality that permeates this project from beginning to end - almost like something is hiding around the headstone from you.

A lot of performers that grew to prominence in the ‘70s are stuck on the Famous Records Live treadmill and have little regard towards new material. And the ones that do have ear-ectile dysfunction as the new songs don’t cut the mustard.

Happily, I can report that not only does Blue Coupe more than cut the mustard, they’ve produced a wickedly strong record. Ten tracks. One cover. No filler. All the boys contribute songs and all take a turn or two behind the mike.

The first track “You (Like Vampires)” retains that look-over-your-shoulder quality of BOC. Written by a friend of the Bouchards, the song has a tremendous chorus and wonderful verses. Great production allows the instruments to be presented right along-side the vocals with clarity. Creepy yet melodic, this song is the perfect intro to this great set. There is also a tremendous video for this song that sells it completely. Of note to BOC fans, one of the guys in the video has a black t-shirt with Underbelly spelled in white. Before taking the name BOC, the band was known as Soft White Underbelly.

Possibly my favorite track on the record is the next cut, “Angel’s Well”, written by Joe. The instrumental first few bars go straight for your neck and feet and get both moving in short order. “With a purposeful grimace and a sinister sound” (sorry, poetic license taken here) this song strides through your speakers, taking control with a firm grasp and handcuffing your ears. Joe provides possibly the most convincing and powerful vocal on the record, which is no feat considering none of these guys would be confused with, say Freddy Mercury. However, that’s not what is required here and these slightly sand-papered vocals from all three work perfectly for this outfit. Two notes of interest for this cut. First is the inclusion of a guitar solo by ex-Doors guitarist Robby Krieger which is excellent. Krieger shows back up with a tasty little slide guitar on “Man Up”. Second is the fact that the co-writer on this track was the late Jim Carroll.

Albert’s “Deep End” is next and is a solid cut that flexes its muscles (of love --- sorry can’t help it) courtesy of some beefy Joe Bouchard guitar. One of the architects of theatre rock, Dennis Dunaway, contributes possibly a candidate for the strongest song next, “God I Need You Tonight”. Sung by Albert (I think, since he and Joe sound a lot alike), this song has some simple (and a couple of weird ones) chord progressions for the chorus that make it tremendously memorably. Love this one a lot.

The surprise on the record is a fantastic cover of The Byrd’s “Dolphin’s Smile” which works on the same level of “Debbie Denise” or “Fireworks”. The menacing title track is next and besides the sledge-hammer rhythm section, a lumbering framework gives lots of space for the guitar to cut through, giving you a feeling of “Godzilla” on the prowl.

“Man Up” is a swaggering piece that gets your head nodding especially with the handclaps on the chorus. Three Dennis songs close the record and all are tremendous. “Untamed Youth” has a chorus that is completely captivating. The hard rock icon tackles the vocals on the next cut “Waiting For My Ship” and kills it. The boogie-oriented “On the Darkest Night” closes off the record in fine fashion. All three are strong stand-alone cuts. As a trio, this is pure heaven.

Forget nostalgia. If you’re a fan of these guys from their previous works, not only will you not be disappointed, you’ll be thrilled. If you’re a fan of hard rock of any sort you will definitely love this record. It contains strong songs that rival almost anything in their back catalogue, first of all. In addition, the performances show three guys who are not merely going through the motions. In fact, they are clicking at the top of their game. Absolutely can’t wait for a follow-up as this is great stuff!

* Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, I received this CD free of charge from the record company.

by Sean PalmerstonApril.16-22, 2009Following up on the success of his Hamilton debut last April with his all Canadian backing band the Outrageous Canadians, former Blue Oyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard is returning to Hamilton this Saturday playing with not one but two bands on the same night. The show will mark his return Hamilton performance with the OCs and he will also be playing a full show with the band Blue Coupe, which also features his brother Joe Bouchard (also ex BOC) on guitar and original Alice Cooper band member Dennis Dunaway on bass. Much like the Outrageous Canadians, Blue Coupe is a band that was formed by chance. The money was too good to pass up, laughs Albert Bouchard over the phone from New York. Joe and Dennis had already been playing together for a long time in his band, the Dennis Dunaway Project, but he later asked me to play some shows with him when another drummer couldn't make it. Joe, being my brother, came down to the gig and got up on stage with us and we had a blast. A promoter was out in the crowd and asked us if we'd consider doing a show for him in this incarnation. We weren't sure about it but Joe said ask him for a lot of money and if he goes for it we'll do it. He went for it, we did the show and it went great so we decided to see if there was interest to do anymore. There was and we have been doing Blue Coupe shows ever since. There is a lot of seminal 70s rock and roll history in the bones of these three musicians, all of whom have known each other for decades. The Bouchards are of course brothers and grew up in upstate New York around the 1000 Islands region, learning how to play musical instruments while listening to Canadian rock and roll stations from Kingston and Ottawa. Shortly after Joe joined brother Albert in Long Island, NY based band the Soft White Underbelly in 1970, the band signed to Columbia Records, changed their name to Blue Oyster Cult and forged a path through the early 70s to become one of the most popular U.S. hard rock bands of that decade. Dunaway was the original bassist in the Alice Cooper Band. He performed on every album up until 1974's Muscle Of Love and wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including School's Out, I'm Eighteen and Is It My Body. We've known Dennis for a long time, says Albert Bouchard. First we used to go see Alice Cooper live, then we did a two show audition for them in Massachusetts that got Blue Oyster Cult the gig as their opening band. We did a couple of really big North American tours with them in the early 70s at their peak, which was just fantastic. We met Dennis in the 70s, but I realized in the early 80s that we both lived in Connecticut, adds Joe Bouchard. Coming from the same place musically, in the 80s we started jamming together and having fun. We played in a band together before this [BDS with former Alice Cooper drummer Neale Smith] and we're having a lot of fun doing this now too.We don't really need to rehearse. We all know where each other is coming from musically and Albert and Dennis react so well on stage together that it is just a blast playing with them both doing these songs. The set is pretty much half BOC, half Alice Cooper but we do spice it up with some covers and I play a few songs off my new album too. The new album that Joe Bouchard speaks of is his new solo album, Jukebox In My Head. Out now on CD he's hoping the vinyl version arrives before they leave for Canada it is his first solo outing and features Bouchard on guitar, his original instrument (he switched to bass to join BOC) and it is well worth investigating. Outside of the album and Blue Coupe, Bouchard has also been playing in a trio with Simon Kirke of Bad Company and Tommy Shannon of Double Trouble. He's a gig junkie, says Albert Bouchard lovingly of his brother. He lives for playing live and does it as much as he possibly can. This trip to Canada sees Blue Coupe doing three shows, with the finale happening here in Hamilton. The show should prove to be a quite interesting one, as they have an additional guitarist sitting in with them who is well known in Hamilton music circles. Gord Lewis formed Teenage Head during his school days at Westdale High School in the early 70s and was a big Alice Cooper fan. This Saturday Lewis will sit in with Blue Coupe during their set and will get to add his own style into songs off Love It To Death and Secret Treaties that he's been a fan since his own early years learning how to play. And, of course, the Outrageous Canadians will also be playing loads of great BOC songs, a good chunk of which come from the Imaginos project which, if the rumours are true, the Canadian and Bouchard may record in its entirety sometime later on possibly with original BOC producer Sandy Pearlman somehow involved. V [SEAN PALMERSTON] Blue Coupe w/ Bouchard's Outrageous Canadian Saturday, April 18 @ Pepper Jack Cafe